XCOM: Enemy Among
by EasyCompany506
Summary: The First Encounter War ended with the death of the Volunteer and the destruction of the Temple Mothership. The following years have seen XCOM go through many changes and explosive growth towards independence. With the fear of the Alien menace fading XCOM must now defend itself from an old enemy from within. EU & EW. Rated T for violence, language and sexual scenes, may go to M.
1. Chapter 1: Honor

_(Author's note. Well, first of all, all Xcom material belongs to Firaxis and 2K. As do the characters Bradford, Shen, and Vahlen. I'll have a little creative liberty with them concerning their first names and pasts, but that's as far as it goes with them. Anything else is my baby. It will have violence, bad language, suggestive scenes, and some sexual language and scenes. So if this was a movie, somewhere between PG-13 and R.)_

_**Honor**_

The hanger doorsparted revealing the dark orange sky with a few fat pink, orange, red and black clouds as they lazily floated across the sky. The roar of the Skyranger, Big Sky piloted by Canadian Air Force veteran Andrew Foch slid into view and began it's long slow descent.

As the hanger doors banged shut, the Skyranger made it's about face to the growing crowd of engineers, soldiers, scientist, guards, and operators. John Bradford had his left arm around his waist and his right hand on his chin, like he normally did when he was anxious.

The craft landed as gracefully as she always did, and her rear ramp lowered almost mournfully slow. No cheering was met with the troops this time. Not after what happened. The occupants came out in varying degrees.

The first out was Stalker. Holly Jackson, UK, wearing her Archangel armor, her green ballcap, and her powerful arms with the metal markings, the reminder that she had gone through Vahlen's gene treatment, angrily threw her plasma sniper rifle aside and shouldered her way through the crowd.

The next three out were the two assault gunners, and Doc Sophie. Sophie Hill, UK, with Desperado, Anna Panagakos, Greece, both genetics, carried between them Nikolai Smirnov, Rhino, Psionic, Russia. He was painfully swearing up a storm at his left leg, the result of plasma fire and a Muton's blade, the women carried him to the waiting medics while Hill threw off her white beret and went with him as Anna turned to light a cigarette with cool steady hands.

The last two to come out was Tendai Hangana, Iris, Nigeria, her MEC's servos and gyros whirring and her massive foot falls announcing her presence. Her MEC's dark navy blue armor was blackened by plasma hits and scorch marks. In her arms, was Esteban Martinez, Hammer, Spain, or rather his body. While he was still alive, Bradford knew he wouldn't be for much longer, not with those wounds. She handed him off to more medics who were prompt

That left two vacancies. One would have been Shaojie Zhang, Chilong, a former member of the Triads of China, and one of Xcom's greatest warriors in both physical strength and Psionic power, he had volunteered in the Gallop chamber and lead the team to 'victory', the other was a Alloy Shiv, whose loss was of no great consequence.

"Panagakos, Hangana." Bradford said as the crowd began to disperse. Both women looked over at him while Hangana took off her helmet to reveal her sweat matted black hair. "The commander will want a report from both of you as to what the hell happened up there." He said and motioned for them to follow.

"Sir?" Iris said, prompting Bradford to turn around. "Would you mind if I got out of this thing first?" She asked, referring to her MEC suit.

"Yeah, Tendai. Of course." Bradford said and she stomped off to the MEC bay. "Anna. Best..." He began. He wanted to say _Best get Jackson,_ but given her current state that was ill advised. "Never mind. We'll wait outside the Commander's office." The Greek nodded and as she straightened her brown hair back into a ponytail and slung her alloy cannon over her right shoulder and followed behind.

The halls of Xcom were still battered from the recent extraterrestrial attack, with wires and charred metal sticking out in some places. This would have been sacrilegious in the eyes of most military commanders, but commander Matthews, Xcom superior officer and the leader of mankind's defense had insisted if it wasn't a danger to passersby and if it wasn't linked to anything important it should be put off for the practical. That while not pretty by any means, it kept the unit's finances in check to more important sectors such as power, vehicle, MEC, weapon and systems maintenance, R&D, and personnel welfare, pay and food and training. The Council didn't approve of this type of behavior and some of the outside military officials, but the soldiers didn't care, as long as there were no vermin. And the research and development people were a little indignant about the workspace's condition, but they were mollified by the amount of work they had and the currency to pursue that work.

Most of this damage had come from other attacks, five in total. Three alien raids on the perimeter with a few Sectoids penetrating as a far Echo sector, one well thought out by EXALT, Xcom's now defunct rival, and a massive general attack by the aliens. The latter was the worst, as there had been well over 100 casualties, most the victims of mind control, with over three dozen dead. One of the casualties had been Matthews, but he had recovered quickly.

It was this recovery and the capture alien's raid forces leader, an Elder Ethereal, that led to Xcom's immediate counterattack. Three scouts had been obliterated, two barges, one abductor and one stealth battleship had been captured, along with numerous attacks on the survivors of downed UFOs and the seizing of numerous scout ships. It was, however, the capture of the Overseer ship was where Xcom hit pay dirt.

Tendai had led operation Spectral Crone as it had been called and it was Shaojie Zhang that had captured the Elder's most treasured object. The object that led to Xcom's construction of the Gollop Chamber.

When he appeared out of the Psi Labs, Zhang had volunteered to test the Gollop chamber's central object, and it had led to this operation. The operation that had resulted in the destruction of the alien's mothership, and the tragic death of Zhang, four Skyranger guards who were the rearguard of the team, the destruction of a single Alloy Shiv, two casualties and many hoped, the end of the First Encounter War.

Some were not so optimistic. Liesl Vahlen, Xcom's chief scientist, the colonels of Xcom, and Matthews himself all believed that until it was determined where the Ethereal threat came from, they would simply come back with another army, one that would perhaps not bother with abductions and experimentation and go forward with general war.

After waiting for Tendai, her dark skin and hair a stark contrast to her metallic body, Bradford knocked on the commander's door. "Enter." A voice came, and the three officers stepped through the threshold.

There were filing cabinets on both walls, all full to the brim with reports, requisitions, orders past, present and future, and personnel jackets. Even with a secretary it was chaotic at best. There were also the personal touches from the commander's family, home region, and previous occupation. The ones that stood out the most was the dark blue uniform neatly pressed of the US Coast Guard, a former role that been met with doubt by Xcom but results spoke volumes about Matthews abilities, the next was a black hat with the golden University of Iowa Hawkeye in the center that rested on the left side of his desk, and finally what looked like a child's stick figure drawing of a boat on the ocean and sailor on it with the words 'Uncle Joe' written sloppily under it.

Bradford was surprised to find both Doctors Shen and Vahlen here as well. Both were sitting in a pair of comfortable chairs and both nodded to the officers as they walked in. Both had likely saved Xcom more pain than it would have been able to bear with their technological advancements. The weapons, vehicles, armor, even Meld enhancements all came from their imaginations and that of their teams. Imaginations that had saved many lives in and out of the organization.

In his chair, with his young secretary-cum-orderly next to him, commander Matthews sat with his right side facing them. His hand was on his forehead by his close cropped black hair, a thick looking shadow was across his face and he looked as if he had been unwinding after holding in tension longer than he should have. His temples were splattered with grew as he looked up with them chocolate brown eyes. He had been in this room for two days know, wearing his best uniform, and what looked like his resignation papers on his desk.

"At ease." He said tiredly. "I hope nobody minds, but if this proverbial nightmare is over, I think I'll have a double of scotch. Thank you, Rebecca." He said as he took the glass of amber liquid and the secretary nodded, took the cue and walked out. Matthews sighed as he swiveled his chair to face them.

The left sleeve was neatly rolled up just past the elbow, the reminder he had been part of the attack on Xcom HQ. A plasma blast from a Muton's rifle at the wrist had destroyed everything just above the elbow, and yet he insisted on keeping like this, despite the advantages of Meld Cybernetics. He had been lucky that it had cauterized the wound shut.

"Tendai, you've been among my best soldiers, so give it to me right between the eyes." He said bluntly. "What's the bill?"

Iris was always surprised by his frankness, though she appreciated it. "Zhang, four Skyranger chiefs, one Alloy S.H.I.V, and Martinez won't make it to next Monday. They just _didn't_ want us to get to the bridge."

"Christ." Matthews croaked and looked down. "I never gave Zhang enough credit." He said ruefully. "I was so wrong about him, but I'll see to it that he gets the Council Medal of Honor." he said. "The names of the chiefs?"

"Brown, Takada, Schaffer, and Adukwo." Panagakos answered.

"Any of them have families?" When he got no answer he turned to Bradford. "John?" Who nodded and said he would get on it immediately. "Alright ladies and gentlemen. We've taken out their suspected mothership, and killed a sizable number of their forces. Suggestions?"

Tendai leaned against the wall. "Well like you said, sir. Suspected mothership. That doesn't mean it was. For all we know the bastards have got a dozen of those things. A hundred, more?" She merely shrugged.

"I agree, commander." Liesl Vahlen chimed in finally. "From what we have seen of the Ethereals, they were not ones to gamble all on one move. They would always have a contingency of some kind in place."

Shen nodded. "With the abundance of their resources, I don't think we've even seen the full form of the monster that is the alien's army. After all, who knows how long they have been at their devilish work and how many other races they've subjugated?"

Matthews suppressed a shudder. The idea that Earth would be involved in a continuous galactic war for an unknown amount of time was not something he wanted to go to sleep thinking about. "Alright. Let's assume that these fuckin' Ethereal are simply withdrawing, giving themselves the chance to consolidate and reorganize we have to find out how long we might have until the next invasion." He said.

"Doctor Shen, I want you to get to work building more satellites and get them over as many nations as possible, even if they are not part of the organization. Also, what about those long range radars that you talking to me about?"

"The Aegis early warning system." The hard faced elderly man said with pride in his voice. "It will double if not triple the range our real time early warning systems compared to what many other space organizations have. I got the idea from an old friend of mine from the CNSA. The original idea was to use this system to detect any space debris that might get too close for comfort. The same principle can be used to detect the invaders."

"How long will it take and where do you need it placed?"

Shen grinned. "The design was nearly finished when I was enlisted into Xcom, I just need to download the schematics and it shouldn't take more than half a month to complete and perfect the design. Especially with the staff I have." He joked. When the invasion started Shen and Vahlen had only a dozen personnel apiece, now they were responsible for over 150 men and women apiece.

Shen's grin grew. "As for the second question, no place on Earth will work. The idea was to land it on the Moon's north pole. That shouldn't be too hard, considering with the additional space craft we have been given." With every ship Xcom downed, it had gone straight to Shen's Foundry people to be reversed engineered for humanity's purposes.

"Good, very good. Also if you've got the time and resources, crank out more weapons and armor for the troops. It never hurts to have spares." Matthews said to which Shen nodded. "Doctor Vahlen." He then turned to the female scientist. "First though, have you gotten any word from your family?" This was in reference to an alien terror attack in Berlin. Xcom had responded quick as lightning and had managed to reduce the civilian casualties to a minimum, but it had left Liesl on edge as she was from Berlin.

"Yes. I managed to contact my mother and sister, they're both alright." She said sounding as relieved as her commander was.

"Well, I can safely say that is a weight off many shoulders." Matthews said that had followed a massive sigh of relief. "What is the status of the prisoners we have, and how goes your advanced research?"

"Well, commander, the prisoners are behaving normally except for the Ethereal. It seems to realize that the ship has imploded and-I guess the closest words I can use to describe it are depressed and furious." She said. "Though I have given it a strict warning that if it continues it will be punished severely." She said flatly, but everyone shuddered. It was no secret Vahlen loved to interrogate any captures they brought in.

"As for my other work, I believe that Meld can be used more than just to enhance our soldiers, but also to change the very terrain of a region. Perhaps even lead to terraforming." She said excitedly. "All the areas outside our population centers can recover and even thrive better than before. Crops will grow year round and deserts will be a thing of the past." She said. "We could even begin to colonize our own system."

"It makes sense. If the aliens had brought as many supplies over as they did, I can only imagine they had designs on Earth once the war was over." Shen hypothesized and Matthews was partial to agree with.

"Can you replicate the Meld?"

"Given enough time, yes. And our elerium supplies as well." She said.

Bradford had been listening to all this with quiet interest before he finally spoke. "I like the idea of terraforming. We could be able to set up buffers between Earth and the Ethereals."

"I agree. I'll run it by the council and I'm sure they'll like the idea of a line of defenses for Earth." He said. "John? Break out the alcohol and the food. Everyone's gonna want to celebrate. Just make sure they can't get to anything that might break."

The meeting continued for about an hour before everyone was dismissed. As everyone began to file out, only Vahlen stayed behind. "Commander?" She asked as Matthews gave a sharp gasp of breath before grasping the stump of his left arm.

"It's fine. It's fine." He said reassuringly as Liesl closed the door, and locked it. "Three months and I'm still not used to the idea of random phantom pain. Vahlen smiled as she set her clip board down on the desk and approached him.

"Is that all that is bothering you, Joseph?" She asked as she stood next to his desk, her eyes watching intently as he took off his jacket to reveal his best button shirt.

"No. I...just...I just hope this war has been worth the price. 3 million civilian casualties and abductions. Three quarters of a million military and police casualties, and over 300 of our own people." He said as he slouched into his chair. "Was it worth it?"

Liesl smiled as she came around the desk and sat on his lap. Gently placing her hand on his cheek she stared at him with those deep brown eyes. "With the alternative being slavery and extinction, I believe it has been worth it, and our soldiers agree." She said and then planted her lips against his.

After a moment they parted to reveal him smiling. "That's rather inappropriate behavior, doctor."

Liesl merely grinned at him. "Oh? Perhaps we should find out just how inappropriate you and I can get?" She said and drew in for another kiss.

"Commander to the Situation Room! Commander to the Situation Room!" The P.A. blared, like it normally did when the Council was on the line.

"Duty calls." Matthew said as she got up, only to have her rear promptly slapped. The commander smiled as he quickly got his jacket back on with her help and was out the door in a flash, doctor Vahlen right behind her.

It didn't take long for the pair to reach the Situation Room. Bradford and Shen were already there and the former spoke quickly into his headset. In response, the screen changed from a global map, to a dark room with an individual sitting before them, his face obscured from view. The grand councilor.

"Commander. Let this council extend it's congratulations for defeating the alien menace. We are extremely impressed with your abilities and that of the Xcom Project. Mankind's freedom and security have been assured."

Matthews had always despised the council. Many of his soldiers had been killed or crippled for the rest of their lives because of their missions more than any other, often for little to no reward. He also questioned their motives and why it was only the richest of nations that had provided to Xcom and others were completely cut out.

Still, he kept his face impassive and his right arm behind his back. "Thank you for the praise councilor. However I must stress I believe it is too early to be celebrating a grand victory." Matthews said, trying carefully to pick his words. "History has shown when a victorious force has not dealt a decisive and long term defeat to their enemies they simply reappear a few decades later twice as dangerous. We ourselves are guilty of that when we seized their Hyperwave Relay." He added bitterly as he had half believed as Bradford had that the capture of the Sectoid Commander in the base under the Columbian jungle had been the end of the war.

"We don't know how long the Ethereals have been watching us, where they came from or if we have defeated them at all. I recommend keeping Xcom on alert and the long range telescopes searching. If only as a precaution."

The shadowy figure appeared to turn their head to the left and then to the right. Obviously discussing the suggestions to their fellow councilors. After a few moments of deliberation the grand councilor turned back to face them. "Very well commander. We trust your judgment. Take all the steps you feel appropriate and within your capacity."

Matthews nodded. He had half a mind to tell them about Vahlen's Terraforming idea, but decided to keep that on the backburner. If he had been wrong about the Ethereals he could pass it off as a recent discovery and that would mollify the governments of the world.

"Remember, We _will_ be watching." They said ominously as they always did, and the screen faded to black.

"Alright. We'll get to work tomorrow once the headaches have worn off and the aspirin kicked in. For now let's honor those that won't be here physically. And celebrate." Matthews said and which everyone agreed.

The memorial room was lager than when it had started out. The room had been extended significantly, with the walls being filled with plaques of silver so they would last almost forever, and every plaque with a name, rank, serial number, and what they did be it soldier, engineer, scientist, or operator. The Xcom flag was over the podium which was kept. It was the original shrine to the Xcom dead. The knife Sanchez, now a colonel who now led Delta squad, jammed into the podium was still there, as were many dog tags, pictures, candles, and shot glasses. The simple reminders of friends, family really, who were now long gone.

The number had steadily increased from 18 months of war. There over 300 names in this room.

Matthews sighed as he took the shot glass filled with whisky and held it up to those that had glasses as well, those that did not drink stood by respectfully. Many glasses rose in the room.

"Tonight, we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend their families, their friends, their race, their planet, their home, and each other. Let their names be in our hearts forever." Matthews said. "To those who like myself have also sacrificed their bodies, their full humanity, and their minds. We salute you."

With that everyone drained their glasses. Within minutes, food and more alcohol was brought out, as well as instruments. It started off slowly, somber music, low chattering and enjoying the food. Then the mood lifted when everyone had ingested alcohol, began to relax and the music had higher tone to it. The sound of laughter filled the room.

Toasts of friends, comrades, to victory could be heard bouncing off the walls. As time went by, more and more people getting drunk, Matthews himself sat with Bradford and Shen as both men talked his ears off about further strategy or scientific topics. Joseph's eye however was on something else.

He watched she slowly got up and without anyone really noticing walked out of the room, a bottle of whisky in her hand. She knew his eyes were on her. He knew where she was going.

"Well gentlemen. You behave yourselves, I have a few more reports to go through. Besides, last time I drank too hard ended up doing something I don't ever want to talk about." He said about half an hour later as he got up and placed his Xcom ballcap on his head. "Have fun."

His vision a little blurred but his mind still sharp, he wouldn't have to worry about tomorrow, nor would he have to worry about forgetting tonight. Something he had no intention of doing. Slowly he made his way to his office, which also had his bedroom. Rebecca wasn't there, she was enjoying her own party with a captain from Bravo squad.

Opening the door, he couldn't help but smile. Sitting on his desk, many of the papers shoved off, was Liesl. She smiled back as she uncrossed her bare legs and stood up. Joseph closed the door and locked it. He took off his jacket and hat and threw them against the wall. "Well doctor. I suppose you're here to check up on me?" He asked as he drew closer to her.

"I am not that type of doctor, but nevertheless, perhaps I should see if anything is out of order." She said as she opened her loose lab coat, revealing a black bra and cheeksters. She grinned as she felt his hand go to her unkempt hair and gently pulled it backwards.

Despite only one arm, Liesl found he was better than men with both. As was his stamina both naturally and fueled by the alcohol. Plus, she got to be on top.

Thus ended the first night without the fear of alien reprisals. The first night without everyone being on edge. The first in 18 and a half months without being afraid.


	2. Chapter 2: Plans

_**Plans**_

Two years had passed by since Zhang's sacrifice. Two years since Xcom had driven off the alien invaders, and two years of training and drilling for the next attack. Yet in those two years, nothing had passed. No reprisals for the destruction of the temple mothership, and no further alien incursions.

The council seemed to believe that the Ethereals had had enough. Rumors circulated that the grand councilor had been changed. Who it was, or if that was even true was not up to Matthews, nor did he care. The sudden arrival of peace was a welcome respite, and he took the opportunity to expand Xcom's influence. Most people in the world now knew about Xcom and what they had done, but not that they were based in Africa.

Another thing different was the fact that the organization had grown exponentially. The army had tripled in size ranging from the best scoring recruits from basic training to ex-special forces. The science and development teams had also enlarged themselves and new and better equipment was begin cranked out of the foundry and labs faster than ever.

One thing that had been heavily criticized was the introduction of the families. The people of Xcom had missed their families and many had wanted them closer so they didn't need to leave should an alert. The council had protested vehemently, but Matthews argued his soldiers would work better if they had their families close at hand, and they wouldn't need to worry about terror attacks or abductions. Many Xcom personnel had lost families during the war. As a result, the populations was well over 1500.

Doctor Vahlen had promised to be able to replicate Meld and elerium and was better than her word. Not only had she made a breakthrough but she had found other uses for them as well. One was fertilizer. Crops could grow year round, mature faster and were healthier than ever. The elerium was now powering all systems inside Xcom. It was safer than nuclear power and rarely needed replacing.

Shen had worked with her on that and had managed the result of a potent new power system that not only provided more power to the base and under ground neighborhood, but had also became autonomous from the council. Combined with automated mass production, the old weapons Xcom used before the advent of laser and plasma weapons, and armor was now being produced round the clock. This had also lead to 20 more Firestorms, five for the base itself, ten for the hangers around the world, and five always circling the globe.

Unknown to them, Xcom had also launched a new long range telescope that would allow them to track anything heading to Earth, be it aliens or debris. As well as deploying the Aegis dish to the Moon's north pole. This gave them a radius of warning as far out as the moons of Mars. Also unknown was that a satellite had been launched carrying Vahlen's terraforming Meld to Mars in the hopes that in a few years it would be habitable for colonization.

Matthews was however growing concerned over their rapidly building independence. He knew the council was growing more and more paranoid, especially since all the laser weapons had stopped working. A built-in shelf life that Shen had devised. Xcom was always leery about handing out the weapons to council nations, especially given mankind's history. The council was also wary of the relationship between Xcom and UNSC general Peter van Dorn among others.

Van Dorn had been an excellent business partner. He had provided money, recruits and influence. He helped to raise awareness to the alien threats to the UN and it was rumored steps were to be taken to help warn Earth of another invasion, though the organization had beaten them to it. Xcom actually now had a presence on the Security Council in all things concerning threats from outside the atmosphere. This relationship had been set in stone as during one of the missions, Xcom soldiers had saved his son, and the relationship had become permanent. Besides, Matthews trusted van Dorn. He was a good soldier and a solid leader.

Another was Eduard Azuka, a high ranking and influential member of the Nigerian military. Many of Xcom's recruits came from his personnel and like van Dorn had recognized that the alien incursions were far more important than any racial or political agendas. He was one of the first line of defenses Xcom had.

With each achievement, Xcom grew further and further from it's council handlers. Soon it would no longer need to rely on them, and Matthews was afraid of this.

"Something on your mind, commander?" He turned to see Vahlen said and that caused Matthews to smile.

"Not at all, doc. Something you needed?"

"Yes. Doctor Shen and I have improved our aircraft so they can safely leave our atmosphere. Namely the Firestorms."

"Great! Now if we detect them we can engage them before they land to wreck havoc again. Well done, Liesl." He said, fighting the urge to kiss her. "How about our _other _aircraft?" She smiled and motioned for him to follow her.

This was were it was getting dangerous for the project. The two barges, and the battleship had been remodeled to carry human forces and cargo, and there was the other craft Shen had been working on. Matthews had issued the order for the construction of Earth's first ever spaceborne Aircraft Carrier. This monster was over a mile long, and could house five Skyrangers, and twenty Firestorms. Her Mega-particle cannon had the power 1000 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb and it was not a topic of discussion of what would happen if this weapon had ever been turned on a planet.

It had taken two years, but thanks to the miracle of automation, dozens of captured alien drones and the doctors' combined staff, the Earth Defense Space Ship or _E.D.S.S Titan_ was half finished.

As he watched the hundreds of engineers and drones work, places were sparks were flying from plasma welders in the dozens across the ship, he couldn't help but be impressed by mankind's ingenuity.

"Liesl, I gotta hand it to you. If you hadn't gotten us this, we wouldn't be able to fight the enemy on their own field." He said. "I just wish the goddamn council could understand that. That I want to keep this war as far from Earth as possible."

"They'll understand." Liesl said. "They have to. Too many lives have been destroyed because of this to not understand."

Matthews nodded. "Well. If it's all the same. I think you and I will have a talk with Shen and Bradford later." He said and tipped his hat to her and began walking away.

"And what will that conversation entail commander?" Liesl asked.

Matthews smiled as he turned back to face her. "A wild ride."

Shen was ecstatic and shocked at the same time while Bradford had approved, and Liesl was overjoyed. They had listened to Matthews' proposal and when he was finished, he motioned for to them for input.

"Well sir, while I would wholeheartedly agree to this in a hurry, and my judgment is you are correct in this," Shen began and Matthews smiled. "But that type of an undertaking is monumental, if not historical and will surely attract attention. From the council if not the whole world."

"I'm with Shen on this, Joseph." Bradford said as Matthews had insisted on keep this informal, which was something he did not like, being a career military man. "Though such operation would be clemently to Earth in the long run, it won't go unnoticed, and will divide Xcom when we really don't need to be."

Matthews nodded. "Well gentlemen, I would much rather prefer we finish _Titan_ but I don't want it being built on Earth. I would rather it was finished on Mars." He said grinning.

The operation was to send the two barges, renamed _Toolbox_ and _Empire_ and heavily modified for human use, to transport the half completed_ Titan_ to Mars' northern pole where, according to Vahlen, the most of the breathable air was. In any event, the barges would also carry habitats, gardens, half engineers, all Xcom scientists and half the guard garrison from the Xcom Central African Republic HQ. Others that were going along were five of the MEC division which had gone from just two to twenty since colonel Hangana, and captain Nathan Timmermans, Hunter, Belgium, had volunteered, as well as the ten members of Delta squad under Colonel Santiago Sanchez.

"Exactly how are we to cover this thing up when the council will immediately get wind of it?" Shen asked and saw the commander smiling.

"Well, I'll lay it along the council and to the UN that we plan on launching _E.D.S.S Roberts_," One of the first soldiers killed fighting the aliens just before the Xcom project was activated. "And we will launch _four ships_."

"My god. Thats..." Shen said in astonishment.

"That's brilliant." Liesl finished for him. "While the whole world is watching _Roberts_ lift off..."

"We'll lift off _Toolbox _and _Empire_ with _Titan_ tethered to both." Bradford finished for her. "Better. We can use _Roberts _as a shield for them as they circumnavigate the globe to prevent anyone from spotting her on radar. Though we still might have to worry about any of the long range telescopes."

"We'll deal with that fire when it catches." Matthews said. "For now, let's get every ship going ready. Shen, work on _Titan_ as long as possible. If we're lucky, it'll be next summer by the time she's finished." Shen solemnly nodded. "Liesl, I want you to work on a way of long-distance communication. I don't want to have to wait an hour for a message to come and go."

"I think the alien's technology can help with that." She said smiling smugly.

"John. Go through our forces and try to find volunteers, I don't want to order anyone to go on this." Bradford nodded. "And if at possible, I want you up there." Matthews knew how much his executive officer would argue on this, and he really did not want to send him anyway, but he needed someone with a level head.

"With all due respect, _sir,_" he added with emphasis. "My place is here at your side. Though I can recommend one of our colonels. Perhaps Hangana or Jackson?" Bradford said, and by his tone would not be persuaded. Matthews nodded, he had grown used to this type of insubordination, where they wanted to stay where the storm was brewing, even against orders.

"Alright John." Matthews said and then turned his attention back to Shen. "How goes it with our newest single seat?"

"The Icarus? We're nearly ready." The Icarus had been Liesl's idea, to take and modify a Firestorm for long distance spaceflight. Such as sealing and pressurizing the cabin, protecting the pilot and equipment from the hazards of space and packing non-perishable foods. The engines had been heavily modified as well. Not only would it not need to be fueled for several weeks, but it would also propel the craft at appalling speeds. Shen calculated that if the Icarus traveled from New York to Tokyo traveling east, the pilot would reach his destination in 15 minutes, which was faster than an ICBM and twice the distance.

With those speeds, the pilot would reach Mars from Earth in only a few weeks. The plan was to have the pilot perform all his basic needs from his chair be it sleep, eat, and toiletries, while he was monitored from Mission Control.

"I believe we should be finished by the end of the week. Our only concern is finding a pilot." Matthews smiled at that.

"Don't worry good doctor." He said as he pulled a dossier out of his desk. "I believe I have one."

Alex Cody sat a little unsteadily after his long flight. He was both jetlagged and exhausted on general principle having volunteered from what was called 'round 'a' bout', or the global patrol. Firestorm pilots in this shift had to fly around the whole world several times for an entire day before landing at the closest base for R&R.

He had landed in Germany just outside of Munich and had barely changed into civilian clothes when he was suddenly ordered onto a flight. While he wasn't flying, he was suddenly awake because of the destination: CAR. Xcom Headquarters.

After reaching Xcom HQ, the combined 36 hours of flight had almost floored him. He was ushered into the Commander's office.

Alex had met Matthews only once, when had congratulated him on Xcom's first shoot down of a UFO. That was in the first month of the war when Alex had been flying the Raven Interceptors, back before he had transferred to Eurasia base, been issued the Firestorm and Matthews had both his arms.

Also in the room was lieutenant commander Bradford, head scientist doctor Vahlen and head engineer doctor Shen. Alex straightened himself as best he could and snapped to attention. "At ease. Take a seat lieutenant." Matthews said as both men sat down.

Alex sighed as he scratched his head underneath a thick mop of charcoal black hair and those faded blue eyes looked heavy. "Cody, Alex. Lieutenant in Xcom air-forces, captain in USAFW, 27 years of age, 1700 hours of flight time in Xcom, 357 for USAF, been involved in 32 confirmed shoot downs, 18 possibles, and survived 3 separate crashes." Liesl said as she looked through his dossier. "Well lieutenant, you have quite an impressive service record."

"I think calling a Quintuple Ace and Xcom's best pilot 'impressive' is a mild understatement." Bradford quipped. Alex blushed under the praise and lowered his head slightly to hide it.

Clearing his throat Alex then said. "Sirs, ma'am? Permission to speak freely?" Matthews nodded and Alex groaned as he popped his neck twice. "With all due respect to everyone here. I have been on a plane longer than any person should be, I haven't eaten since last night or showered and I'm wearing clothes that are a week old. I'm tired and short on patience and temper and would like for us to get straight to the point and just tell me why I'm here. Am I in trouble?"

Matthews snorted amusingly. "Well, since you want me to get straight to the point, I will." He said and stood up. "And no. You're not in any trouble." He said as he walked over to a case that contained alcohol. "In fact, I have an important job for you, lieutenant Cody." He pulled out three glasses expertly with one hand and three more before pulling out a what looked like 12 year old scotch. "I want you to be part of two flights. One is a shakedown run for a new prototype for the Firestorm."

Alex nodded, only half listening and half fighting off sleep. He knew elite pilots were often chosen for shakedowns for new planes as their experience and judgment were quintessential for corrections and improvements that would be needed. Shakedown runs were also what killed many pilots.

What Matthews had said next woke Alex in an instant. "After that, I want you in the best shape of your life, because son," He said and handed Alex a double, "You will be the first human being to cross the void to the planet Mars." Alex nearly dropped the glass and looked at Matthews with open astonishment, his eyes wide and mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"Unless you don't believe you don't have the guts to stand up to the challenge, Alex?" Matthews asked grinning. Alex gasped and looked down in thought. This was stepping into the podium with Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. To be counted among pioneers like Christopher Columbus and the Wright brothers.

Though that would also destroy his career. Since Xcom was public now, if the world found out he was the first man to go to Mars, he would never be able to step foot near a plane again without being hounded by the press. So he mentally shrugged at that.

Alex set his glass down on Matthew's desk and stood up, his 5'7" being shadowed by the Commander's 6'1" but he stared intently into those eyes.

"Commander. You get me into that cockpit, promise me that my name will never be told to the world until I die," He said and sighed. "And I'll show you I, beyond a doubt, have the guts."

Matthews regarded him for a few moments before nodding in seriousness. "Alright. Now get yourself some sleep, then a big breakfast and a pot of coffee. You're gonna need all three before this is over."

"Yes sir." Alex said as he stepped back from Matthews and saluted him sharply. Matthews returned the salute and dismissed Cody.

"A good pilot without boasting it and modest as well." Shen said sounding impressed. "It's a shame there aren't more of him."

"Alright. Liesl, get to work on finding the best regimens for him and get him in peak condition." She nodded and began making notes. "Shen. I want the Icarus to be as safe as possible. It won't do to have him get killed on the shakedown run."

"What about the council? They'll find out about the test when we perform it." Bradford pointed out the white elephant in the room.

"No they won't." Matthews said as he got up and began making himself look presentable with Rebecca's help after he had summoned her. "Because I'm gonna tell them about it. I'll give them half the truth and say it's a faster quick response interceptor for our fleet and that this _is_ it's shakedown run." He said.

"Have fun." Bradford said dryly.

Another target was vaporized in the massive range of Xcom's training area. Colone Fang Yin Fong, Omega, China, cocked back her plasma sniper rifle and began making minute adjustments to three dimensional scope that sat atop the rifle.

A sniper by trade, Fong had another skill that Matthews exploited heavily when during the war; subterfuge. Omega had been the one to infiltrate EXALT facilities and even found their main HQ in Volgograd, Russia, but had not participated as she had been wounded on the mission that determined it's whereabouts.

She also did not participated in many of the other missions that followed as the commander said she had 'had enough.' At first Fong hated him for that, but because she had been left on the sidelines, she had been able to participate in the battle that had her defending Xcom itself from the invaders, personally killing 7. She had been wounded in that fight, but she had earned the Council Medal of Honor for it, and because she had been the first to find the commander badly wounded and brought him to Vahlen and Doc Sophie.

She had also learned the tragic news of fellow Chinese soldier Zhang from sniper Jackson. Though she mourned him like the rest of Xcom, she was inwardly glad he had done what he had did.

Now, Fong had trained and drilled with the rest of Xcom in the intervening years since then. It was frustrating that nothing was happening. She was glad the war was over, but not at the stagnancy that was gripping all Xcom soldiers. Sure the scientists and engineers were always busy, but the troops were sitting on their laurels. There was only about 20 soldiers in all of Xcom, out of 300 that had seen any action and therefore these twenty were the cream of the army. Everyone else had never fired their weapons in anger. There was also about an additional 200 Xcom security personnel that varied from guards to SRT.

Fang had never really liked sitting on the sidelines or being a sniper, that was just because she was good at it. What she really liked was the idea of being in those Firestorms. The idea of flying had always appealed to her but her application to the PLAAF had been rejected out of hand because a misdemeanor in her youth. Still she would not have been denied military service, and had enlisted into the army. There she had been recruited to Xcom.

Her interest to fly had been piqued again by the latest arrival, who now slept in the barracks right now. Lieutenant Cody was his name and had been part of the Eurasian squadrons as well as the Global squads. She was also interested in the man, and when he woke planned on asking him about his profession. And after that conversation, planned on going to the commander to ask for a transfer.

She just wanted to have some practical and constant worth. This constant waiting was insufferable and all of the troops wanted some action.


	3. Chapter 3: Changes

_**Changes**_

**New York City, UN building**

Matthews sighed as he waited outside the chamber for the representatives of the world to call him in. His foot tapped as he leaned back against the wall of his bench. In fact he had been waiting for about two hours now. However, he certainly liked to hear the Xcom representative, Ross Kelly, Tombstone, US, kept up his vigorous speech.

The former assault trooper, who had taken a hit from a Plasma blast that severed everything below the waist and only the timely medi-evac to China garrison and Meld had saved his life. While plasma cauterizes the wound, it can still kill the victim through pain or shock. While he had been given new legs, that was a much as he wanted. Since he had missed the mothership operation due to his operations, he instead went to the political path and became the Xcom representative to the United Nations.

Ross crescendoed with one sentence and the sounds of clapping, cheering and desk pounding could be heard from inside. "Really kicking up a storm in there huh?" Matthews asked as he turned to Annette Durand. She and her Furies had volunteered to go with their commander.

The Furies had just been rescued during Operation Secret Paramour and as a result had been too weak to participate in any operations for a few months as well as their debriefing by the council. Annette had also been wounded and as a result had not been able to participate in either EXALT or the mothership raids.

Nevertheless, all four were highly skilled psi-warriors and all had weapons hidden under their civilian clothing.

Annette nodded, her beautiful brown hair had been tied into a ponytail and she wore a black ball cap. Under her business jacket was a first generation or conventional Xcom shotgun. "_Oui. _He certainly is. One of the reasons _j'ai éspousé _(I married) him." She said smiling. The official ceremony had been three months ago, but both had married privately six months before that. With the commander's blessing of course.

"He is certainly a strong speaker." Said 'Megaera' Tariq said as he leaned on the wall opposite Matthews.

"I'm just hoping he shuts up really soon." Matthew 'Alecto' Hawkings said and chuckled when Durand hit him on the shoulder. Joseph grinned as he leaned back. His grin disappeared when he clutched his left arm. The phantom pain had never truly left him.

Durand had taken notice but did not press it. Mattews sighed and rubbed his arm a few times. The doors opened up next to him and the orderly nodded and waved him in. "Well," the commander said as he stood up and adjusted his Xcom ball cap. "Time to get on with the show." He smiled to the four and walked inside with Rebecca, who he took along on this trip, handing him his speech notes.

Liesl sighed as she laid on her bed. Joseph had been gone for nearly a week now. Offering the plan to send the Icarus to Mars. Also being sold to the UN, was the _Roberts_. Shen and Bradford had kept up their work with the _Titan _and the final preparations to _Toolbox _and _Empire._ Finally, Vahlen's scientists were mostly sitting on the sidelines as there was nothing exciting to research or to test, save for the Icarus project and the communications projects.

She could now compare her own plight to that of the soldiers, if only briefly. The constant dullness and the mandatory routines. It was maddening, and many had requested other work. Yet the training continued and everyone in the base was trained at basic firearms, tactics and first aid. The massive raid against Xcom had been reason enough.

That still left _her_. She was lonely and a little bored. Her mother and sister had decided to stay in Berlin, and Joseph left before they could have a _proper_ good-bye. She chuckled when she thought of that.

It had been an amazing journey between them. He was already handsome and modest when they had first met, but after his injury, and the fact that _she_ had kept him from going into shock after he had saved her life from that Muton, had brought them together. She couldn't help how she felt about him. It took all her scientific professionalism for her knees not to buckle every time she even felt his touch. And when they made love...Liesl chuckled some more.

She sat up and took off her lab coat, revealing the Xcom olive drab green turtle neck that many of the female scientists wore. No sooner had she done that and laid down, she curled up into a fetal position, and moaned as she felt tension at her waist.

She sighed when it passed and got back to her feet. Turning to towards her bathroom, she slowly began stripping off her clothing. After stripping down she stepped into the shower and let the warm water run over her bare body.

While she missed Matthews, she had to focus on Icarus. They needed to feed and water this pilot for the entire journey and expel his wastes. The journey if Shen's theory was correct would take a month in total. Though the shakedown run would be invaluable research material and could change the length time either by shortening it or lengthening it.

She had hoped, that it would the former. Liesl was more than certain that was what Cody was thinking as well.

Alex panted into the mask as he ran hard on the treadmill. In all his life, he had never worked so hard at his body. Sure there was basic training for both the air force, and Xcom, but this was something else. In just a week alone he had already gained a couple of pounds of muscle.

The food was something else. While it was not as bad as basic training food, he couldn't say it was significantly better. However, he had to eat it as not only would his body acclimate to this stuff, being his in flight food, but also it was highly nutritious. Inwardly, he would take the scientists' word on that.

"Time!" The scientist said and pressed his thumb on the stop watch simultaneously. Alex hopped onto the sides of the treadmill as it began powering down. His bare chest was covered in sweat and heaved. One of the other scientists gave him a towel and a bottle of water which he destroyed in a matter of seconds.

"And how is our patient, doctor?" A voice asked behind Alex. He wrapped the towel around his neck and turned and saw doctor Vahlen. He grunted and began drying himself as best he could.

"He's performing well, ma'am." One said in a French accent. "He's better than we hope actually."

"That is good." Vahlen said as Alex quickly got a tank top on. Liesl was about to move on when Alex stopped her.

"I hope this isn't going to put you in any bind doc." He said tiredly. "But I've been here almost a week since I agreed to this mission and I haven't even seen what I'm gonna fly yet." He said shrugging.

Liesl thought about it and smiled. "Not at all, lieutenant." She said and beckoned him to follow. "Seeing as how you will be very intimate with this vehicle soon enough, I don't see why you shouldn't be acquainted with the Icarus."

Alex walked behind Vahlen and looked around at the corridors. With the Alien Incursion threat over in the foreseeable future, the much needed repairs were implemented to HQ. The hallways were now pristinely clean with the grey linoleum a modest sheen, the walls immaculate and the ceiling tiles fresh. It was nice change from the wires, scorch marks plasma holes and the broken panels on the floor.

He smiled as a group of children ran past them in one of the areas they were allowed to go and were followed by, of all things, a great dane puppy. It was strange to see civilian families here, but Matthews had insisted on the families' safety, especially with the Terror Campaign the Ethereals waged on humanity. His men loved him for that, and even those that did not have families came to respect his decision as it showed he cared for the welfare of any connected to this project.

Soon the sounds of arch welders, ratchets and other power tools could be heard from down the hall as well as music ranging from rock to classical. The sounds increased as they drew nearer before they entered a wide and tall looking hanger.

Directly in front of them mounted on a pair of tandem positioned pillars was what looked like a larger version by half of a Firestorm. Alex could see that was the main difference, though he noted the engines were longer and bigger, the final reason was there were no weapons on this bird. Clearly weapons were to be added later not at all. The two 'bubbles' that were on the front and on either side of the cockpit that was a feature on the Firestorms were not light blue this time, but a bright red.

"Well, lieutenant?" Vahlen asked and turned to him. "What do you think?" Alex didn't answer her but walked forward to run his hand along the smooth titanium/alien alloy skin of the hull. It was warm to the touch.

"I think she looks beautiful." He said quietly. "So what other modifications does this beast have?"

"Well, that I shall leave up to my colleague. Dr. Shen?" She shouted over the din of tools and music. The older man came forward and smiled and nodded to Alex. "Perhaps you can explain to lieutenant Cody here exactly what his craft will do?"

"Absolutely." Shen said as he put his hand on Alex's back and lead the way like an enthusiastic tour guide. "The first my boy is the extra horsepower this monster has. I estimate it has been given more than twice of what your Firestorm had, and that's being conservative.

"The next and one of the most important for this mission are the instruments we'll use when you reach Mars." Shen said finally.

"What kind of instruments?"

"To measure wind speed, pressure, breathable air levels, atmospherics. Things like that. All you'll need to do is flip a few switches when we tell you to and fly."

"That's good to hear." Alex said smiling. "I like keeping things as simple as possible. Especially when I have to travel a few million miles." He added jokingly but inwardly was not.

Matthews sighed as he straightened his jacket with Rebecca's help as he left the amphitheater. The speeches were long and rousing, especially with the council nations, but he was now tired, and wanted to board the Sky Ranger and go home. As he rubbed his eyes, he was met by someone whose company he enjoyed.

"Hey Joe." Peter van Dorn said grinning. His hair had gotten grayer because of the war, and his mulicam uniform looked a little wrinkled but he still retained that laid back attitude he seemed to have.

"Hey Pete." Matthews said as they shook hands.

"Pretty inspiring what you said in there. I especially like the idea of planting a UN flag on Mars." He said. Matthews grinned at that. Not many of the superpowers liked the idea that it wasn't _their_ flags being the first on the first celestial body besides the Moon to have a flag planted.

"Pete." Matthews said grinning and held up his hand. "I've known you long enough to know that when you compliment anything relating to business, you have something on your mind. So what is it?"

Van Dorn smiled and looked Joe right in the eye. "Do you like walks?"

So Matthews was lead through central park which was not too far away, with the Furies, Rebecca and van Dorn's own bodyguard not too far behind. After going down the park for a bit, van Dorn turned grim.

"I've spoken with my contacts in ICC, FBI, CIA, FSB and Interpol." He said and rubbed his eyes. "Nobody has been able to locate the EXALT leaders." That made Matthews stop and stare at him in aghast.

"You're kidding? After almost three years?"

"I know. It doesn't make any sense but it's the truth. It took eight or nine years to find bin Laden and that was with every intelligence agency on the planet looking for him. And Russia is a huge place, especially the lands surrounding Novgorod."

"Pete." Matthews said looking at him hard. "We _have_ to find these guys. These are the leaders we are talking about. They have the money and influence to simply start another war against us."

"I know kiddo." van Dorn said as he shrugged. "But I think they figured out the hard way that they can't win a stand up fight or even fighting as separated guerrillas. So they may try something else. What exactly I don't know. Though I have heard a rumor from the underworld.

"Have you heard anything about the council?" This question caught Matthews off guard and he visibly flinched.

"No?" He said unsteadily.

"Well, the rumors are that a few key members have been assassinated. One is possibly the grand councilor." van Dorn said.

That hit Matthews like sledgehammer. The idea that traitors to their very race had not only vanished...but worse.

"Pete? Are you of the opinion..." Matthews began slowly, trying to figure it out himself. "That one of our enemies has infiltrated our leadership?" He was hoping that van Dorn was wrong, that he had misinterpreted his information, anything. Then again, when was Xcom ever that lucky?

"Joe. If I didn't believe that rumor wasn't possibly true, we wouldn't be talking." van Dorn said dismally.

"Christ." Matthews said as he turned and faced a small lake where he could see children playing with each other, with a couple of dogs, or chasing the ducks by the water's edge.

It was a nightmare taking form. Everything Xcom had done, all the lives lost all the victories in the defense of humanity would be torn asunder if these rumors were remotely true. The whole project would be shut down on a whim if one or two members of the council were EXALT, but the grand councilor would have everyone member of the project, be it scientist, engineer, soldier and even the civilians and those that had helped over the years would be killed.

His mind was spinning at many thoughts of doom, when it was broken by someone clearing their throat. Matthews turned see and old bent over woman standing before him. Her hands resting on her aluminum cane as she looked up to him.

"Are you a member of that group that saved us all from the aliens?" She asked him in a wizened but wise and polite voice. Joseph Matthews was driven speechless as this was the first time someone had ever asked him that. He could only nodded.

She seemed to smile and nodded to him. "I just wanted to say thank you. For everything you youngsters do for us and how much you have given." She then looked down at her feet. "I lost one of my grandchildren to those monsters during the war. I'm glad to know that there are young people like you will fight for us, and for those we remember, like my little Emily. I wish you well and success." She said as she smiled and began slowly walking away.

Now he was no longer regretting the strives to independence that would have gotten the project burned in the first place. These little acts of defiance might have bought Xcom a little more time. With what this kind elderly woman told him, he knew that Xcom would never be seen as the enemy, no matter how hard EXALT tried. He also knew what his next decisions would be.

"Pete?" Matthews asked as he turned to face the UN general. "How would you like to take a ride with us?"

Everyone was very surprised when General van Dorn came out of the Sky Ranger with the commander, his secretary and the Furies. Matthews' face was grim as he lead Rebecca and the general towards his office. The PA then rang out for Doctors Shen and Vahlen and commander Bradford to the commander's office.

When everyone brought in, Rebecca was asked to leave and she did so. "Gentlemen, Doctor." Matthews said, the last directed towards Liesl. "I've had a conversation with General van Dorn here, and what he discussed with me, is quite disturbing and alarming. It seems, our old enemy EXALT may have penetrated the highest echelons of the project. The very council itself." Liesl covered her mouth in shock, Shen wrenched off his glasses and Bradford balled his fists and clenched his jaw.

"Even if this is just a rumor, this changes everything. It means _Titan_ and the expeditionary group is not the only thing leaving. I mean to evacuate the entire Xcom project."

"Joseph, there are over 5000 members spread across five continents. That'll be one hell of an undertaking." Bradford said.

"If our Sky Rangers can get our forces to and from the battlefields within an hour, we can do it with them as well. For the time being, I want every non-essential personnel evacuated from the garrisons and brought here in the greatest of secrecy. Our Firestorms can be flown straight back here and loaded up into the _Alhambra_ when the cat's out of the bag with the Sky Rangers." _Alhambra _was the name of another barge that was in the dry dock deep below the facility. "When she is safely away, then we'll load everyone else into every vessel capable of space flight and head out."

"If it comes to where our Firestorms and Sky Rangers are forced to return here, then council will probably already be laying siege to this place." Shen said as he slipped his glasses back on. "I'm certainly glad we are no longer tied to their power grid and that we have those new defenses in place."

"You're not kidding." Matthews said as he rubbed his eyes. "Shen. What projects are you willing to cancel? I need enough Sky Rangers cranked out to be able to evacuate those garrisons should the time come."

"We can take off our conventional firearms production and the S.H.I.V.s. and we should have two Rangers built every month."

"Good. Combined with the others we have, that ought to be enough in just two months, three hopefully." Matthews said and turned to Liesl. "How is our star pilot coming along?"

"He is eager, or perhaps he is more eager to stop the training and simply get to flying." She said, and that actually eased the tension somewhat. "He'll be ready in a month, maybe two."

Matthews nodded and turned to Bradford. "Status on _Roberts_ and the barges?"

"_Roberts_ will be finished soon. Perhaps a month, and both barges are ready now." Matthews frowned at that. That meant the battleship would be finished before they were even ready to recon Mars.

"Any chance we can delay? Say it was a mechanical problem or an accident of some kind? I want Mars properly surveyed before we launch _Roberts._"

Bradford nodded. "Hope you're a good poker player to tell that lie to the council. They're eager for her status report tomorrow."

"I'll deal with the council, just keep this plan going." Matthews said as he gripped his arm. Liesl saw this, and saw an opportunity.

"I think it might be wise to let our commander relax now. He has already had a busy enough week." She said. "Though if you don't mind commander, I would like to brief you on more of my terraforming." She said. The others shrugged, and wondered why the commander would not council for war and Xcom's survival at the moment but would hear out Vahlen's likely boring briefing.

Soon Liesl closed the door, and after a few moments, locked it. "I'm starting to get the feeling that I'm not gonna get much relaxation in." Matthews said smiling as she took his jacket off and then straddled him.

"_Nien_. You're not. At least not until after." She said then crashed her lips against his.


	4. Chapter 4: Snowball

_(A.N. Well thank you all who decided to read this story, given the fact I haven't been writing much fanfiction for a while. Finding work and writing a novel can do that. And while this is probably asked by authors from Los Angeles to Japan, but I would greatly appreciate it if all you kind people give a review for this story. While it's nice to see people visiting, it's also nice to hear their opinions on the matter. I'm sure many of you agree that to hear that encouragement and to find out if they are doing anything wrong. Still it's the reader's right not to.)_

_**Snowball**_

Matthews sighed as he looked at the report that Rebecca had given him. _E.F.S.S. Roberts _had finally been officially completed. It just had to be the same damn day the council requested a report. They would want to know about _Roberts_ status. Though _Titan_ was still a full month from having her hull finished. When that was complete she could safely be taken across the void.

For now, he hoped the council would be satisfied with both Cody's shakedown run, and the trip to Mars. That in and of itself was a circus. The UN had insisted that the entire world watch the pilot's condition and the duration of the trip. That could not be negotiated so additional steps were taken to protect Cody's identity remained a secret.

Thankfully, Cody, in his flight-suit and helmet to keep his anonymity, asked the UN when he through skype to allow him some measures of privacy such as when he had to use the toiletries when he ate and when he was sleeping. That they relented to.

The shakedown run would be in two days, and Cody was beyond nervous, both in fear and excitement. When he was not training his body or in a simulator, he was writing or sending calls back to his family in rural South Dakota. They had been invited to come to Xcom headquarters, but both of them refused. They stated that they would not be run off by something neither could understand, and Matthews respected their wishes. Many had insisted on that, though twice as many had been convinced by their loved ones serving in the project.

Matthews never had to worry about that himself. His family was the men and women of the project. His parents had died shortly before he had left high school and he was an only child. His father had a brother but wanted nothing to do with a 'militarist' despite the fact the Coast Guard which he joined shortly after graduation was more like a police force. No, he had made a brother through Bradford, a father figure through Shen, and a lover through Liesl. He had everything a man could need; respect, work, decent pay and a beautiful woman that loved him. Though he wanted children, a lot of children, he just didn't know how to run that idea by Liesl yet.

With Rebecca's help, he slid his formal jacket on his shoulders, the Council Medal of Honor given to him by the original council during Operation Iron Phantom, the defense of London in a rather brutal week long terror attack that had claimed the lives of 12 Xcom operators but had saved the lives of 100 times that number, hung on his left breast and he used his free hand to slide his peaked hat onto his head. "Thank you, Rebecca." He said and went out the door.

After saluting many of the personnel that walked by him, he arrived at the Situation room in 5 minutes flat. He had liked that his office was near the Mission control room and the Situation room. It allowed him to get to the scene quickly during the emergencies that seemed used to keep him awake at night. Inside was Liesl, Shen and Bradford. Behind them the map of the world. Many of those countries that belonged to the council had been dangerously red at one time or another, yet always he managed to pull through and lower their panic levels. Now twenty more countries, those that could, had joined the council and had sent money, scientists and soldiers. These additional levies had been what bolstered Xcom and made it what it was now.

Joseph nodded to everyone and then nodded to a technician. She switched the screen over to the council screen. The figure sitting in middle looked exactly like the original grand councilor, which still wasn't much, and it looked as if there were two others standing behind the councilor.

"Commander." The voice said, it was digitally distorted, which was something the original councilor never did but Matthews never pressed it. "Your recent activities have impressed us. What is the status of _Roberts?_"

Matthews sighed and shook his head. "Sir, I'm afraid I must report some bad news. It seems we've encountered a serious situation on _Roberts._ It seems the gravitron generators are a little sensitive. During a test, they ripped out of the floor then through the roofing of both _Roberts_ and then through the facility. Repairs will push her launch back a month. Perhaps two." He said. At first, the council did not respond to this then the grand councilor shook his head. "The gravitron generators we use in the Firestorms are significantly different to _Roberts._ It wasn't something we expected."

"Very well, commander." The councilor said, though Matthews could tell it was strained. "How is our star pilot?" The figure said, deciding to move on.

"He's ready, sir." Matthews said with an impassive face. "He will pilot the Icarus around the planet for about half an hour at top speed when we give him the green light. We have also gotten in contact with every nation on the route to have SAR teams on stand by if anything should go wrong. They've supplemented our own teams. I want safety to be paramount in this operation."

"Agreed. It will not do to have a hero of humanity to die too early." The voice said in a way that made Matthews believe it was being snide. "We will await your results with enthusiasm commander."

"Sir." Matthews said and cleared his throat. "I'll proceed to London to christen Icarus and attend the launch." He said and had Bradford casually turn to glance at him, though it looked like he was glancing towards the technician. As far as the lieutenant commander was aware, Mathews had never once said that he would attend. "I'm sincerely glad EXALT is gone, though I will have a decent presence in the city to be on the look out for any alien mischief."

"Good. We shall also send one of our most affluent and influential backers there as well. Loren De Sable." The voice said. "He is interested in what his money is being spent on. Don't disappoint him, commander." Matthews nodded. Then, he was asked something that brought him close to a confirmation of who this council was.

"Commander. Many of our backers are asking for more of the laser and plasma weaponry that Xcom has made an unfair monopoly of. If your fears of an alien invasion are correct, would it not be prudent to share some of the technology of which this project has enjoyed such success?"

"No sir." Matthews said flatly. "And I shall give you my reasons. My operators train for an entire month before they are even allowed to go near any of those weapons. In the beginning I simply handed them out once they came off the line because the situation dictated I do. The laser scatterguns and pistols that I sent to local law enforcement agencies were to aid Xcom as they were offering personnel or money or they reduced panic. I'm disappointed to hear none of them have lasted to this point." He said and shrugged though inwardly was thanking Shen as those weapons should never be used outside Xcom. "Sir, I'm mistrustful of my own race as our history is not exactly the most peaceful. If these weapons ever got into the hands of renegades and terrorists like EXALT again, I shudder at what the next era would be like. So once again sir, my answer is and will remain 'No.'" Matthews said.

At first, there was nothing from the figure on the other end. Matthews stared at it for awhile, as if he was playing a staring game and Matthews had no intention of blinking. "We are disappointed to hear that Commander. Your opinion of our race is naive at best as it has come together many times before. However, we shall respect your wishes, for now, and wish you luck on the Icarus." The commander saluted the screen and it returned to the world map and all eyes turned to him.

"What made you decide to go the launch?" Shen said eying him with a sharp gaze. Matthews only smiled and took his hat off. "I've known you long enough to know that you have a plan in you mind, so what is it?"

"Sometimes the hunter has to become the bait to lure out the wolves." He said slyly. Bradford, sharp as always figured it out the moment the commander said that, Liesl and Shen were a little slower but they picked it up as well.

"If the council has been infiltrated, they'll inform any of their operators to try and assassinate you. And likely Cody as well." Liesl said, not sounding happy about that little idea.

"In the middle of a crowded area in broad daylight as well." Shen said. "Well. They _have_ shown they can be very brazen." This was referring to the raid on Xcom HQ.

"Eyup. Now we just have to figure out how they might plan on doing the deed. Bring me Jackson, Fong, and Timmermans. I don't think they'll try to walk up and shoot me. The police and the Furies won't let that happen, so they might try a sniper." He said though he chuckled. "Though if that's the case, I shouldn't be too worried about it." Many of his men had laughed at the EXALT snipers as they would hit their target maybe once out of twenty shots.

"This is not something you should joke about." Liesl rounded on him.

"Don't worry doctor. If anything I might be wrong about this whole thing." He said though instinct was telling him otherwise. "I'm more worried about the fact they were openly asking for Laser and Plasma technology. They might use that against us in a smear campaign."

The three nodded. "I concur. Though we have to tell the truth. Those weapons are too dangerous to have outside Xcom. While I'm proud of my craftsmanship, I'd prefer those things were melted down." Shen said sighing. "Ironic since I'm making more of them in a month than I did when the war started." He then shrugged.

"With any luck, you'll get your wish." Matthews said as he sighed and graciously took the chair the technician offered before leaving. "I'm still amazed at the peace that we're experiencing. Two years and not even a peep out of the Ethereals. It's a little disconcerting. I mean...surely we didn't kill all of them...right?"

Alex couched as he jumped up and down a few times to help get the awkward flight suit. It was heavier than normal, though this was probably with the added weight of the parachute, and it seemed like it was made of mostly a type of lead lined leather to protect against radiation. To add to the awkwardness was the massive sleeve that reached from his waist to his ankles. This ridiculous thing for his bathroom functions, it would be combined with a hose and a vacuum.

"So all I have to do is piss in the hose and shit into the sleeve." He said joking. "It's kind of along the lines of astronauts." The scientist said as the two aides in plastic gloves helped Cody straightened the flight suit. Alex found it amusing really.

"Well," He said as one of the aides pushed the custom helmet and visor over his head and then rotated it to lock it into place. "Ready to make history boys?" He asked as he pulled down on a handle on the side of the helmet and his visor closed to reveal the bronze colored mask the would protect him from the sun. One of the aides tapped him on the back of the helmet in encouragement. "Have a great ride, kiddo." To which Alex gave a thumbs up.

He sighed behind that mask and knelt to his knees. He clasped his hands together as best he could with those big bulky gloves and began muttering a prayer. After he finished he stood back up and began walking towards the massive pair of metal doors. The two UN security personnel opened the doors for him and he stepped out into a din of light and noise.

Hundreds of people were surrounding him and the path that led to his awaiting Icarus. He was glad the helmet's visor was for light protection because the reporters were snapping thousands of pictures at him. He was glad there was fifteen feet on either side of him and four guards in a square formation as his final line of defense from the excited mob. The only other things between him and them were the dozens of London cops and the metal guardrails. He felt like he was running a gauntlet.

The noise from the cheering and the torrent of questions that were hurled at him. He smiled inwardly as the reporters from across the world were likely frustrated not knowing who he was, save for the '_Vigilo Confido'_ Xcom patch on his right shoulder. Aside from that, not his age, rank, nationality, or religious standings were in sight for them to abuse as they saw fit. All he was before the whole world was mankind's next great explorer. Like every great explorer he will be faceless until the time of his accomplishment, and in Cody's case his death, they could do what they pleased with him after that.

He nodded to the cops who opened the doors for him and when they closed, it was instantly better. Only the Xcom personnel were allowed in at this point. The cameras would follow but only after he had set himself into the cockpit. There, he was surprised to find Matthews standing by the ladder that led to the cockpit.

"Sir." He said and gave him a salute.

"At ease, Alex." He said grinning. "Relax kiddo." He said as he pocketed his only hand. "I'm just here to tell you 'Good Luck'. So no reason to get all tensed up." He said and both men decided to walk side by side.

"You got everything you need?" The commander asked. Alex nodded. "Nervous?"

"Yes sir." Alex said enthusiastically. "Though I must confess I'm more curious as to what you are doing here sir."

Matthews grinned and stopped. He looked in either direction and faced Cody. "It seems...EXALT might be in the Xcom leadership." He said quietly. Alex clenched his jaw and nodded. He personally had never faced EXALT as they had no airpower to speak of, but he had lost a few friends in the ground forces because of them.

"So, I'm sort of acting as the chum for the sharks" He said grinning. "If anything hopefully we can smoke out the rats if the council is bent." He said. "Though I don't want you to worry about any of that. Just fly for us and your people." Matthews then slapped Cody on the shoulder. "Just sit back and do what you do best."

"Yes sir." Alex said grinning. "Just fly." Though he couldn't help but worry about the guys that would have to face this threat again. He had friends in the troops. Still he had to focus. "Alright, commander. I'll try to make it a good flight." He said and shook the commander's hand.

As Matthews watched as Cody climbed the ladder to the Icarus, Annette, wearing civilian clothes, a woman's trench coat that concealed an assault rifle. She then whispered, "Sir. Just got word from Col Jackson. She thinks she might have spotted a glint in one of the buildings across the Thames." After listening, Matthews nodded and gave his orders.

"Very well, captain. Have Miss Tariq take a squad of men over quietly and assess the situation. Gently Annette." He added. "If it's someone with a telescope trying to get a better view of the launch, let it be. But if that telescope is attached to something unsavory, find out who they are working for, and if they're on our side but we weren't informed."

"And if it's something else, _mon ami?_" She asked. This was the question of whether or not what to do with EXALT if confirmed it was them. After a moment, Matthews nodded. "_Bon_." She said and headed off.

Alex sighed as he sat in the seat, an awkwardly refreshing feeling on his posterior, he began connecting the equally awkward hose to a slot just below his waist. He had gone through this routine several times and it had become muscle memory at this point.

After flipping a few switches and pressing a few buttons, he switched his on his communications. A screen just below the forward canopy window came to life with Doctors Shen, Vahlen and lieutenant commander Bradford in the center. "Central. Central. This Icarus. Proceeding with comms check. How copy, over."

"Icarus this Central." It was Bradford's voice he heard in the built-in headset of his helmet, and saw his mouth moving on the screen. "Reading you five-by-five."

"Roger Central. Permission to spin up my engines. over."

"Permission granted Icarus. You are go to spin up your engines." Alex nodded and began flipping a few more switches before pushing the throttle on his left up and down a few times. With that he pressed the large red square button that was the ignition to the engines. Behind him there was a small hum followed by a growing whine of the engines. He heard the whining because the canopy was still open and as a result the ground crew began putting their protective earmuffs on.

He gave a thumbs up to the crew master and closed the canopy. The noise was not as pronounced anymore.

"Colonel. Where did you say you saw the glint?" Annette said in the radio that posed as a cell phone. She looked around and saw that the police, all checked and all loyal to Xcom as the project has either saved them or their families and their city in terror attacks, as they cautiously and quietly began emptying the lobby of the hotel.

"_Second window from my right. So your left. Sixth floor._" Jackson's voice came from the receiver. Annette nodded and pocketed the walkie.

"Let's see." She muttered and began looking at the layout to the whole building. The closest room of that description was room 628. Second room from the corner. "Alright. _Allez._" She said to her people and they began ascending the stairs while a few police officers and an Xcom soldier went in one of the elevators to come from two different directions.

Annette, the Tariq siblings and a few Xcom and SWAT officers quickly made their way up the stairs and within a few moments they reached the fifth. Here they slowed down so as to raise their weapons to their shoulders. A couple of teenagers were startled when they came down the stairs and found assault rifles pointing at them. They were shushed and quickly but quietly led back down the stairs to the lobby.

Carefully a SWAT officer and Annette flowed through the door at the sixth floor and found it empty. She nodded and waved the others through. Cautiously but quickly headed down the hall.

At the end of the hall at the center, the elevator _dinged_ and half a dozen SWAT and Xcom spilled out. A few trained their weapons at Annette's people but quickly lowered them when they saw who it was. After this they quickly joined with Annette.

Annette held up her hand into a fist and everyone came to a stop behind her. "In position. Deploying motion sensor." She said and pulled a small round silver orb from her pocket. She pulled the pin out and rolled it down the floor. It was expertly done as it came to a stop just short of the door of 628. There was a slight hum and on the small notepad on her wrist came to life.

On the pad in red silhouettes were on the pad. One was leaning against the door, his left leg bent with the foot pressing against the wall. Another was lying on the bed, his legs crossed and his arms behind his head. The final one however was sitting down near the window, his body bent forward and the way his arms were positioned.

"Colonel. You were right. Got a tango with a weapon in the window. Permission to breach?"

"_Wait one._" Jackson's voice came through the radio. Annette made a few motions with her hands and SWAT and Xcom took up positions on either side of the door. Everyone could feel the pressure building and it was on a hair trigger waiting to be released.

"_Confirmed, they are _not_ London's finest. You are go for breach._" She said.

Annette nodded and gave the nod. A SWAT officer with a battering ram in his hands stepped forward and with one mighty grunt brought the heavy metal back and slammed it hard against the door which yielded immediately.

She was the first one in and sure enough saw that they were EXALT, with those white business shirts, black pants, shoes and body armor. The one nearest to the door immediately seized up the G36 style assault rifle that was next to him. Annette leveled her assault rifle at his head and fired a three round burst. The first bullet grazed his right ear, the second went through his mouth and the third went though his right eye. His body after it had jerked slumped back against the wall a mass of red black blood and grey brains on the wall.

The man on the bed hopped off the bed but never got the chance to arm himself. Said came up behind Annette and fired the Xcom pump-action shotgun with a thunderous _crack! _that reverberated through out the room.The buckshot hit him in the upper chest and neck and at that range it nearly knocked his head off. Like a pez-dispenser it actually lifted off his neck and the back of his head slammed into his back as it fountained blood and the body collapsed.

There was another_ crack!_ as the sniper in panic fired his weapon and he was hit from both front and back. The back was a SWAT officer with an MP5 riddling his unprotected back, the front by Jackson with her plasma sniper rifle. The latter did the most damage.

It was all over in ten seconds. The Xcom radio began going crazy with chatter. All demanding where the shot went and they soon received their answer.

"The Commander is down! Repeat the commander is down!"

As Matthews stepped out into the rain, he sighed and adjusted his ball cap. He trusted Annette to take care of what was going on in the hotel. Still he wanted a better look at Icarus as she rose. Next to him was Loren De Sable. The man was in his early 70s, with a completely bold head and liver spots on his hands and neck, he wore a maroon business suit with black pants. A secretary held an umbrella over his head.

Matthews had just turned to face the hotel and began to raise the walkie talkie to get a report from Durand. It was then he felt something hit him.

The window flashed several times and the window shattered. The conventional round slammed into his chest and he stumbled back onto his back and remained motionless. Xcom operators swarmed over him and quickly lifted him up and took him inside.

As he began walking away, Loren De Sable turned to his secretary and had a cellular phone. "Yes. Yes it is me. I have good news." He said with an impassive face. "Yes. I'm sure. That bullet hit him right where his heart was. He's dead." He then nodded. "Of course. I'll see to it. Don't worry." He then hung up and handed it back to his secretary who then removed the Simcard and threw it into a garbage can.

As the Xcom operators carried Matthews inside the hanger they sealed the door tightly. Jackson came running down the stairs that lead to the room. She was completely sopping wet and tossed the rifle to another operator and knelt beside the commander.

"Get everyone the hell out!" She shouted and anyone who was not affiliated with Xcom was forced to the doors, often at gunpoint. The hanger became very empty with just about two dozen men and women left.

"Are you alright?" She asked calmly. "Looked pretty close there."

Joseph Matthews opened his eyes and groaned. "Chitin plates and nano-flex body armor and it still hit like a hammer." He moaned as he began getting his coat off. Beneath was purple plates that were researched off a Chrysalid. "Christ in a Cartoon that hurt." He said.

"Oh quite your bitching. He could have taken off your head with that round." Jackson said as she helped him up. "Probably the first time they had ever hit something."

"Well folks." Matthews said as he sat up. "The snowball has been tossed into hell. Lets see where it lands."


	5. Chapter 5: Icarus

**Icarus**

"Central this is Icarus." Alex said as he flipped a few switches on the panel. "Everything alright down there? Radio began going ballistic." He said as he looked down and found himself heading south over France now.

"Solid copy Icarus. It seems EXALT still had a cell in Britain. They tried to assassinate the commander." It was Bradford's voice. "He's alright. Believe it or not he was expecting this." Alex sighed when he heard this. He wasn't worried about the transmission being intercepted, Xcom had a special encrypted quantum radios that they created and perfected so it was, according to Shen, impossible to tap.

"We see that you're just passing just over Normandy. You should be linking up with Viper 4 and 5 in about 10 mikes." Bradford continued. Alex smiled at that, Viper squadron were the Firestorms stationed in Europe and had gotten close to many of them in the last two years.

"Copy that." Alex said as he looked down again. He was now passing over the heartland of France. He would meet Viper flight over Corsica as he made his turn left and follow the Equator east.

Sure enough when ordered to make his turn just after passing over the coast not too far from the city of Nice, he began approaching Corsica when he saw two blips on his radar that indicated Firestorms. "Central I have Viper 4 and 5 on my screen preparing to hail them."

"Roger that."

Alex switched the frequency on the radio to one where he could communicate with Viper flight and still be monitored by Central. "Viper flight. Viper Flight. This is Icarus, how copy over." He waited a few moments before hailing them again.

"Roger that, Icarus. This is Viper 4. Cody boy. How are you?" A female chimed in through the headset. Alex smiled at that.

"I'm hanging in there, Bremmen." He said. "So you're the escort for this fat bird of mine huh?"

"Seems like it." She said. Within a few moments two Firestorms raced by at his 10 o'clock position. He watched as they wheeled around several miles back and then they were on either side of him. He waved to both of them and as soon as they were passing over North Africa the three human built flying saucers held in formation and headed due east.

* * *

><p>Matthews smiled as he was sitting comfortably in the back of Big Sky 1. He knew Liesl would begin to freak out, privately, when she found out about the attempt. He kept his thoughts to himself from the Furies and the other Xcom soldiers inside with him. It was then his thoughts turned to something else.<p>

Why only target him? Surely EXALT knew that simply getting rid of him would not change anything about Xcom. Sure it would make the project a little weaker but that strength could be recovered fairly quickly with Bradford at the helm. So why just attack the highest leadership? Then he began thinking that perhaps it was just a premature opportunity.

He sighed as he leaned back. They were sure not to make that mistake again, and neither would the project. From now on until the evacuation was complete none of the heads of Xcom would leave the base. That place, after several attacks, had become nothing short of a fortress with a myriad of defenses and a garrison of over 1000 soldiers, not to mention every civilian was now trained to use a firearm.

"Rebecca, can you arrange to have a secure video line set up with general van Dorn?" He said as he rubbed his left arm. "Also get a message to Dr. Shen and please tell him, with my compliments, to hurry with _Titan's_ and _Alahambra's_ construction." He said smiling. She nodded and began jotting down notes.

Matthews kept his smile up as he looked out and saw what looked like jungle below. It was still amazing how fast the Rangers were even before they were overhauled with alien tech. Now they could cover the same distances in half the time and more efficiently.

"Sir?" The pilot said as he stuck his head out from the cockpit. "We have an incoming call from Central."

Nodding, he straightened his jacket out as best he could. Matthews sighed and said, "Alright. Patch it through." He said and soon he heard Bradford's voice through the earpiece.

"Glad to hear you're still among the living, sir." Smiling, Mathews leaned back in his seat and adjusted the headset.

"Was that doubt I heard in your voice lieutenant commander?" He asked jokingly. Jackson and the others in the Ranger also grinned at that comment.

"No sir. Just making sure we don't lose our fearless leader." Bradford said in return and that caused Matthews to let out a small laugh. "Sir. Doctor Shen wishes to inform you that he is grateful that you are still among the living, as does Doctor Vahlen." Joseph chuckled when he mentioned Liesl.

"Inform them I thank them both for their concerns." He said. "Now, I think it's time we begin our preparations for a full on evacuation." Matthews said. "Rebecca? When I get back, get yourself a pot of coffee and a decent dinner. You're looking a little peaked." He said smiling.

"Sorry sir. Haven't exactly been downrange of an incoming round." She said as she wiped her face with a kerchief.

"Only natural first time." He said grinning. "Perhaps you should spend time with that major from Bravo you seem to enjoy your time with." He said and that caused her to blush and look down.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not saying anything against it. You're twenty-five and I'm more than certain you have many of the men and women fighting each other because of you." He said impassively. While she was a beautiful woman, he was immune to such. And what caused that immunity would, once again, chew him out.

"Besides, that major is also your husband. So you have nothing to complain about." He added grinning.

* * *

><p>Shaking with anticipation, Alex had to set the stick between his knees several times to clench his hands together to try and stop them shaking. It was growing more and more difficult to control his nerves. He had firewalled every aircraft he had been in command before, but nothing this powerful or intense.<p>

"Icarus this is Central. You are go for full throttle." Bradford's voice came through on the comms. The moment Alex had been waiting for. "And remember, if you detect any problems-any at all-you power down and land at the nearest Xcom base."

"Roger. Viper flight. You better clear the way." He said. At the speeds he was about to have this thing go at, even if he picked them up on radar it would be too late to react. That was another reason he was choosing to fly at only 8,000 feet right on the equator. There was far less traffic at that altitude and there were plenty of places to safely bail out if he needed to.

"Roger that Icarus. Have a great ride." Viper 4 said and both aircraft bobbed their flanks up and down a few times, the pilot's salute, before both rolled left down and away. Alex watched them go a few moments before he sighed switched the screen over so he could see Central and they could see him.

"Central this is Icarus. Going hypersonic." He said and placed his hand on the lever. Slowly he pushed it forward and the engines began humming louder and vibrating more the further he pushed it. The clouds began racing by as did the ocean below. Faster and faster everything went and Alex began feeling the pressure that was the g-forces inflating his flight suit and pressing his body.

On the HUD, he could see his speed. Already it past mach 3.

Mach 4.

Mach 5.

Alex grunted as he felt the blood moving down to his feet as he strained to keep his eyes open.

* * *

><p>Inside Central they were keeping a close eye on the young pilot. His face on the screen was straining but he was still in control. "Hang in there, lieutenant." Bradford said as watched the speed. It was at a staggering mach 7 or just at 5,327 miles per hour and it was still going up.<p>

"How fast can that thing go before it flattens him?" Bradford asked, his hand covering the mike so it didn't worry Alex. The man he was talking to was Colonel Foch, the former pilot of the original Skyranger and now the commander for the entire transportation wing of the Xcom air wing.

Foch merely shrugged. "I don't know. We've never ran anything that fast since the Saturn V rockets." He said. "Nor have we ever run anything this long before." He said.

Matthews with Liesl standing next to him, were standing quietly off to the side. Matthews had once commanded his men from afar but this was beyond his expertise so he decided to let Bradford and the technicians and Cody do what they did best. He was still on edge. It had always hurt him whenever any of his people got hurt.

Bradford sighed as he turned back to the globe and it showed him passing over Venezuela. "C'mon kid, keep it together." He muttered.

* * *

><p>Alex gritted his teeth as he glanced at the clock. He was now down to ten minutes and yet it felt like an eternity while this was going on. Alex had to use every technique and all his training to simply keep awake and the aircraft stable.<p>

Though he knew this was not working. Not at this speed. His vision was getting blurry and the controls were shrinking away.

"Central." He croaked. "Icarus. I'm blacking out..." He said as he watched the countdown. To his amazement the number was at three seconds left. He saw it wind down to zero before everything went black.

* * *

><p>Bradford immediately ordered Icarus into autopilot and he watched in relief as the aircraft became steady and came back down to the manageable speed of 500 mph. On the screen, Alex's head was bobbing slightly as he had hit some turbulence.<p>

"Lieutenant?" He said onto the mike. "Lieutenant Cody. This is Central. Do you read?" He said and there was no response from Alex. "Lieutenant Cody. This is Central. Do you read me?" Bradford continued calmly as everyone was holding their breath.

"Lieutenant-"

Alex gasped as his head slammed back into his chair and began blinking and looking around. He could feel blood coming out both nostrils but that aside he felt alright. "Lieutenant! Lieutenant! Get it together, we have you under control." Bradford said in his ears and Alex began to relax somewhat.

"Turn the camera off." Alex said. The camera he was referring to was the camera the world had on him. It had no sound and with his mask down he was still anonymous. The only thing that the world would get was captions, the speed and height. Bradford nodded and motioned to a technician.

"Go ahead lieutenant, you're on a secure feed." Alex gasped and lifted his visor up and began panting. "You alright lieutenant?" Bradford asked and Cody nodded sharply. "Well I think we've had enough fun for the day." He said and looked at the map. "Viper 4 and 5 will escort you back to Xcom airfield in Germany. We'll have a medic and a bed waiting for you."

"Roger." Alex said haggardly. "Icarus...turning to meet with Viper flight."

Bradford sighed as he turned and walked back to where Matthews and Lisel were. "Well. It could have been much worse." He said sighing and rubbing his face. "Sir. With your permission, I think I will go find the bar."

"I'm sure Alex is gonna want a drink himself." Matthews said as he leaned against the wall. "Granted John. Better bring a bottle to my office as well, and the reports."

"Yes sir." He said and turned to leave. Matthews sighed as he wiped his own face with is kerchief. After popping his neck real quick he looked at Liesl. He smiled and could already feel the angry and relief in her eyes.

He knew he was going to get an earful tonight. For now it was time for business. "Doctor Vahlen. How goes the terra-forming process going?" He asked trying to keep the professionalism up.

She nodded and looked at her tablet. After a few moments of searching she said, "Faster than we had anticipated. Almost 50% of the northern hemisphere is habitable now. Another pod to the southern pole and within two perhaps three years the planet Mars will be mankind's first colonized planet." She said proudly. "And it seems there is an added benefit we discovered by complete accident."

"What do you mean?"

She smiled and answered. "It seems the Meld enhanced food everyone has been eating is improving our immune systems and if my simulations and calculations are correct, we will live one and a half times longer than normal and the next generation will live twice as long." She said.

"So to the not as educated." He said jokingly. "I'm likely to live past 120 because of the Meld?"

She smiled and chuckled. "You always seems to simplify the complicated. But yes." And sighed as she crossed her arms. "And you should be very grateful of my nanofiber weave and the reverse engineered chitin plates." She said.

And here it came. "Perhaps we could continue this in my office?" He asked and she nodded and led the way.

No sooner had he shut the door and asked Rebecca to leave, Liesl broke down and began crying in his chest. He smiled as listened to her rambling for a full five minutes. He took the weak jabs to his chest and held her tightly.

Finally she looked up at him, her makeup draining down her face from her tears and he shook his head. "I was completely fine my dear. See?" He asked as he took one of her hands and placed it on his chest before pulling out a bandanna for her. "No holes, no broken bones. Still here." He said grinning.

Liesl had completely forgotten her professionalism and sighed as she wiped her face. "I'm sorry." She said. Slowly she began to calm down. "Sorry." She repeated over and over again.

"For what?" He asked grinning. "What was natural for you to do?" He moved some of her brown hair out of the way and caressed her face. "You have nothing to apologize for." He said.

She looked at him for a few moments then chuckled and rested her head against his chest. She felt his heartbeat, his calloused hand gently on the back of her head. She then felt his chest heave in a deep sigh.

"Liesl...I may cause you more tears, but I hope of a good kind. May I talk to you?" He asked. She looked at him and somehow she knew where this conversation was going to lead.

* * *

><p>Shen and Bradford were approaching the commander's office. Both were discussing the relative success of the Icarus shakedown run. Relative as Cody still passed out at the last instant. While that would be negligible in space travel as there was no gravity in the void, it was still a danger that needed to be addressed.<p>

Bradford was about to knock on the door, he raised his hand but stopped when he heard Dr. Vahlen's voice from the other side of the door.

"_Oh, mein Gott!_ Yes!" She shouted and there was a great clattering sound from inside. Like someone had been tackled and a great many objects were knocked over.

Bradford chuckled as he lowered his arm. "I was starting to seriously wonder when he would ever get around to asking her." Shen said as he grinned. He had known from the very first day, but was rather delighted to see her relaxing in his company.

"I know. They sure took their sweet damn time." John said as he pocketed his hands and turned lead the way to the bar. The report could wait. He had also known from the start as very little escaped him, even the commander couldn't keep secrets from his XO and it was not the latter's business anyway.

"Still, it will be nice when they come out and finally confirm everyone's suspicions." Shen later said as he sat at the bar and ordered a good bear, homebrewed. "I swear those two were carrying on like teenagers behind their parents' backs."

Bradford laughed took his shot. "Right. Well, we'll tell them after the honeymoon." He said and toasted their commander and both men clinked their glasses. "For now we'll let them have their time."

"Right now. I'm more concerned with EXALT. I did some checking. It turns out our friend de Sable has made some rather interesting transactions over the last five years. Mostly legal ones of course." He said.

"But?" Shen asked smiling.

"But. We dug a little deeper. Rumor has it he has dabbled in illegal sciences such as chemical, genetic and psychic studies and research. As well as black market items like paintings and antiquities and weapons and not to mention..."

"Alien technology." Shen finished for him. "I may not be one for investigative practices, but those are the tell-tale signs that he has an ulterior agenda." He said as he took a ship of whisky.

"My thoughts exactly. I'm gonna do more digging and overseeing the remaining evacuation of non-essentials from out garrisons." Bradford grunted.

"That reminds me. Won't EXALT catch on? I mean with us moving troops out of our bases?" Shen asked as he took a drink.

"Yes. If we decided to go with all at once. But me and Matthew's agree that it would be wise with one country at a time. Starting with the European ones, namely Italy first. We'll do the continent last."

"Why last?"

"They'll act as the first line of defense when the shit really hits the fan." Bradford said.

Shen couldn't resist the moment. "I'm sure the kids will appreciate that thought."


End file.
